Yasdika Indurjith

Experience

• 

  Unilever Food Solutions

  Jan 2016 - Dec 2016

  Product Development Trainee

  • Assistance in renovation and innovation projects within cross category food products, including dry and wet seasonings, dry and wet desserts, sauces and marinades, salad creams, mayonnaises, and dressings. • Shelf life assessment and validation of existing, renovated and new products. • Process validation within the wet desserts range. • General administration work heavily reliant on Microsoft Office use, with a focus on Microsoft Excel. Key Achievements: • Completion of personal project (elimination of crystallization within a caramelized sauce) within half the estimated time frame. • Completion of certification in the Principles of Project Management. Show less

• 

  Unilever

  Jul 2017 - Mar 2019

  • Planning of packaging specifications and portfolio for all foods & refreshments innovation, renovation and VIP Projects.• Capturing of specification on internal systems, including Team Centre, SAP PLM.• Conceptualization and execution of agreed specification management processes across multiple categories.• Governance of specification data quality standards.• Status management – management of specification status cross-category.• Liaison with procurement and supply chain for the specification management and supplier sign-off processes.• Training on new systems and development and maintenance of ways of working. Show less • Contract management: data management in terms of material contracts maintenance with suppliers including upkeep of prices on a specified terms basis, material contracted volume updates, and contract terms updates. Currently using SAP, CLM, iCAT Procurement systems.• Compliance checks on payment terms, delivery times, and key material updates as per discussions with suppliers.• Payment queries and purchase order query handling for suppliers and buyers.• Purchasing analytics on price movements according to agreed thresholds with suppliers.• Constant compliance checks on supplier pricing submitted e.g. compliance to agreed terms such as Oanda on price breakdown cost sheets.• Handling of team fact files upkeep and maintenance by constant update with latest contract-related information as discussed and finalised with suppliers.• Encouraging supplier compliance with new systems.• Liaising with factory planning personnel to ensure material stock levels are maintained constantly and stock is delivered on time via contract maintenance.• Liaising with suppliers to ensure factory and product quality parameters are met during innovation and renovation projects via provision of specifications.• Liaising with suppliers to ensure the factory quality system is up-to-date in terms of traceability maintenance. Show less • Conceptualization and development of end-to-end product innovation and renovation projects, including team evaluation and assessment co-ordination, shelf life assessment and validation, product life cycle management, and product quality specification writeup. • Artwork generation including the write-up of the ingredient statement, allergen declaration, product specific usage instructions, and marketing claims declaration. • Presentation of innovation and renovation products to both local and foreign stakeholders and customers in regions including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. • Consumer complaint root cause analysis and general quality control as well as participation in consumer data trending and technical insights work. • Products specifically targeted include dry seasonings in powder, cube, and bouillon format, meal-makers and ready-to-eat products, and dry soups and stew extenders. • Spear-heading savings projects and tracking of these on internal systems such as SRS. Show less

  • Catogery Specification Writer

    Jan 2019 - Mar 2019

  • Assistant Procurement Officer

    Jul 2018 - Jan 2019

  • Product Development Technologist

    Jul 2017 - Jun 2018
• 

  RCL FOODS

  Mar 2019 - now

  • Assisting the National Account Manager with all Key Account Management actions & activities including tracking customer performance, preparation & maintenance of monthly and quarterly customer reviews (using both Sales In & Sales Out data, Product Share Analysis, Innovation Tracking, etc).• Usage of Internal & External Data systems & agencies in order to obtain, analyse, and extrapolate actionable insights from sales data. • Ongoing market analysis and movement tracking, including the tracking the progress of all growth initiatives (launches and promotions/activations).• Identification of Channel Category opportunities.• Maintenance of promotion grids and management of the annual customer budget.• Creation and setting of volume forecasts against planned activities (promotions, innovations, etc).• Management of all customer stock issues/queries/delivery queries & pricing.• Assistance in landing all Price Increases on time & in full.• Conducting monthly trade immersions. Show less • Provision of expertise and assistance to Brand Manager in all brand management and brand building activities.• Assisting the Brand Manager in the identification of innovative and strategic ideas (including product launches and promotional activities).• Development of brand positioning and communication strategies.• Coordination and execution of promotional strategies in order to increase brand awareness, profitability, and business prospects.• Consumer and trade promotional activity management and marketing event management, in collaboration with the Customer Team.• Supervision of multi-disciplinary teams in order to execute projects within assigned timelines and budgets, as assigned by the Brand Manager.• Collaboration with internal and external market research teams in order to spot consumer changes, trends, and needs.• Tracking of parameters such as pricing, distribution, and POS in order to determine the success of promotional activities, product launches, and marketing campaigns.• Assistance in brand audits, brand reviews, and the development of the annual brand plan.• Analysis of competitor activities and performance as well as market trends.• Management of brand budget. Show less • Leading and coordinating projects, including the coordination of project meetings, communication with team members and the documentation of project statuses and issues from the conception of the project until completion.• Providing guidance and direction to project teams, including the assignment of individual responsibilities, tasks, and technical functions.• Supervision of project staff in order to analyse and direct the impacts and inter-dependencies between projects and work so as to ensure all strategic and operational objectives of the supply chain management system are met.• Identification and management of project dependencies and all critical paths.• Monitoring of project milestones and deliverables and tracking project quality and progress. • Preparation of management reports and ensuring regular communication with project stakeholders.• Evaluation of the project activities as well as reporting on project progress.• Coordination of multi-level and multi-functional disciplinary teams, including time and resource management to ensure deliverables are completed.• Assessment of status reports, change requests, and requirements documentation to ensure smooth project progression.• Conducting project postmortems and creation of recommendations reports that analyse successful and unsuccessful project learnings.• Coaching and mentoring team leads and members, and ensuring positive action and accountability is taken for assigned work.• Ensuring project administration is undertaken and correctly completed (including organization of meetings, documentation control, team communications, etc). Show less

  • Junior Category Manager - Pies

    Jun 2024 - now

  • Assistant National Account Manager

    Aug 2022 - May 2024

  • Assistant Category Manager - Pies

    Oct 2020 - Jul 2022

  • Project Coordinator

    Mar 2019 - Sept 2020